The invention concerns an extractor device for an insert to be used with a bone connection element usable within an implantable orthopedic device having a load-bearing element such as a bone plate with at least one opening for a fixation element such as a bone screw. A screw can be used such as shown in the application entitled “Self-Guiding Threaded Fastener” with inventor Yves Crozet filed on Nov. 30, 2004 the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The invention is furthermore related to the insert itself and to an insertion device for such an insert. The inserts may be used in bone plating systems such as described in the application entitled “Bone Plating Implants, Instruments and Methods” filed Nov. 30, 2004 listing Yves Crozet, Christian Lutz and Renee Wirth as inventors the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Such an insert is provided that can be inserted into the opening in a receptacle in which the external shape of the insert is at least partially complementary to the internal shape of the receptacle. The insert has a central through-bore for mounting a body of the fixation element. The implantable orthopedic device has a structure for holding the insert in the receptacle.
A series of implantable orthopedic devices with load-bearing elements, such as bone plates, with openings for the insertion of fixation elements in such load-bearers are known from the prior art. Among them are proposals for the mono-axial as well as poly-axial attachment of fixation elements, particularly screws.
As an example for a device of this type having poly-axial attachment of screws in load-bearing elements is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,722. Other bone plates with inserts are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,269,784, 5,976,141 and 5,607,428. One advantageous insert is shown in WO 2004/082493, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1 OF WO 2004/082493 shows a perspective view of an insert to be used with a load-bearing element such as a bone plate. FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a load-bearing element with another insert inserted. The load-bearing elements can be equipped in advance with standard inserts. This enables an easier more cost efficient production of bone plates giving the surgeon the possibility to adapt the bone plate according to his needs. A surgeon thus may turn an opening in a bone plate adapted to receive a non-locking screw to an aperture in which a locking screw having a threaded portion adapted to threadably engage the plate via the insert can be used. Then it may sometimes be necessary to extract one or the other insert and to replace it by another different insert or to leave the bore or opening empty. The prior art exhibits the disadvantage that there are no extracting tools provided to help the surgeon team to extract inserts.